2016's Word...

Chas asked me early on Christmas Eve what my favorite Christmas hymn was.  I couldn’t be bothered at that moment to think on it and answer.  I was in the process of helping my mom and T-dub cook, wrap presents, and get ready for Christmas Eve service at church.  And did I mention that I’d been up since 5am and driven 4 hours to get there?

It wasn’t until we got to church and the beauty of it all fell upon me that I realized not only what my favorite hymn was and what my word should be this year.  We all stood in the darkened sanctuary with the soft glow of all those beautiful lights and began to sing:

Joy to the world

The Lord is come

Let earth receive her King

Let every heart prepare Him room

It hit me like a ton of bricks.  Thinking of the blessed anticipation of Advent and singing this song just made sense.  Joy to the world!  The Lord is come!  Please, Jesus, let earth receive her King!  And let every heart prepare Him room.  Let me receive my King and my heart prepare Him room.  Please give me joy, Lord!

In the past few years, I’ve worked on Wisdom and Peace, so now I will see how Joy is going to fit into this work that Jesus is currently doing in my life.  I don’t know how this is going to work out.  It is taking a great amount of faith to commit to this and that will call upon what I’ve been learning so far about Peace, anxiety, and fear.

Do you have a word this year?  If so, what is it and how does that fit into your life?

A Year of Peace

My word for this year was Peace.  I would have to say that I am unsure of my success regarding my year of peace.  I may be a bit more peaceful now than I was last year at this time.  By and large, I am not what most would call peaceful.  Most of my friends know that anxiety is something that plagues me.

Now, as I said, I haven’t quite mastered the idea of peace.  However, several good things have come from a year dedicated to the pursuit of peace.  I have learned a great deal, beginning with the idea of what is the enemy of peace?  This answer may vary for many, but for me, the enemy of my peace was my anxiety and fear. 

I had to find out the root of my anxiety and fear:  lack of faith.  So, there it was; the actual obstacle that I had to overcome.  I’m still working toward it.  Faith is hard for me.  I’m not sure the cause, maybe it is the stubbornness of being from the “Show Me State.”  Regardless, it is something that I am consistently battling and working toward.

The other cool thing about my word this year is how much it popped up!  I couldn’t believe how much just the word PEACE showed up in my every day life.  Before I’d even made it home from the holidays, my parent’s pastor preached a short series on the lack of peace and it’s enemy anxiety.  I also taught a series from the Gospel according to John, which has a LOT to say about peace.  Or maybe that is just where my heart was.

I also made some amazing, Godly friends this year.  And it has been mind-blowing how often one of these great ladies would send me a message, text, note, or gift that in some way brought me back to peace.  Verses have been given that were the exact thing that I needed at that exact moment (Ex  14:14).  It has been a blessing that I didn’t even know to hope for.

So, how would I characterize my progress toward peace?  Well, like most things, it is a process.  I’m definitely not where I want, or need, to be.  But I am working closer to that direction.  If nothing else, I am way more aware of peace and my need for it.  And that is a very, very good thing.